Department for Transport

Cycling

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many employers offered a package the value of which was above that normally permissible under a Cycle to Work Scheme in circumstances in which an employee had specific needs that required a specialist cycle due to a recognised disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 in (1) 2013–14, and (2) 2014–15.

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many employers refused to offer a package the value of which was above that normally permissible under a Cycle to Work Scheme under circumstances in which an employee had specific needs that required a specialist cycle due to a recognised disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 in (1) 2013–14, and (2) 2014–15.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As this is not a Government scheme the Department for Transport does not collect data on how many employers offered or refused to offer, a package the value of which was above that normally permissible under a Cycle to Work Scheme under circumstances in which an employee had specific needs that required a specialist cycle due to a recognised disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 in (1) 2013–14, and (2) 2014–15. This is because the Cycle to Work scheme is an employee benefit covered by an exemption and therefore employers do not have to make an annual tax return regarding the benefit; meaning the Department does not collect the data.

Cycling

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they have made to include disabled cyclists within the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government will work to increase awareness of both the use of cycles as a mobility aid and the need for discretion when implementing 'cyclist dismount' regulations in public areas, including stations. We recently consulted on the draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and as part of the consultation sought views on how to increase cycling and walking in typically under-represented groups, including disabled people. The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and will publish a Government Response later this summer.

Bus Services Bill (HL)

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Competition and Markets Authority about the potential contents of secondary legislation and guidance needed to complement the Bus Services Bill [HL].

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have worked closely with the Competition and Markets Authority in developing the Bill and will continue to do so as we prepare guidance and secondary legislation. We have received several recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority and we are currently reflecting on these and will respond in due course.

Road Signs and Markings

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for ensuring that road signs on Highways England and local authority roads are visible, clean and not obscured by foliage; and how members of the public can report signs that fail to meet those standards.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Highways England is responsible for maintaining the road traffic signs on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). This duty is discharged through contractors who maintain the signs in accordance with Highways England standards. Any defects can be reported via the Highways England Customer Contact Centre [emailprotected]/*  */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/*  */ or by telephone on 0300 123 5000.Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network, including traffic signs, in their area. The Department for Transport encourages local highway authorities to provide facilities, through their websites or mobile phone apps, for members of the public to report defects on the highway they are responsible for.

Ferries: Isle of Wight

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 May (HL7878), when the Marine and Coastguard Agency will institute a prosecution of those responsible for that incident.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will not be instituting any prosecution following the collapse of the mezzanine deck on the ST HELEN ferry at Fishbourne, Isle of Wight. Before a prosecution is commenced the matter must pass the two stage test as outlined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The MCA has confirmed that it will not pass both stages and have decided that it would not be in the public interest to pursue this further at this time.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax: Arrears

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Citizens Advice Bureau report Catching Up: improving council tax arrears collection published on 8 July, and of why that report does not refer to the guidance to local councils on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears in respect of vulnerable people published by the Department for Communities and Local Government in June 2013.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government made its position clear in our ‘Guidance to Local Councils on Good Practice in the Collection of Council Tax Arrears’, June 2013. This highlights the importance of councils being sympathetic to those in genuine hardship and that they are proportionate in their enforcement action, as well as noting the support that should be provided to vulnerable people.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UK Withdrawal from EU

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the economies of the Caribbean and British Overseas Territories of the result of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Earl of Courtown: We are already engaged with the Overseas Territories to capture the full range of interests they have in the EU, including the potential economic impact of any change in their relations with the EU. We will fully involve the devolved administrations, Gibraltar, the Crown Dependencies, the other UK Overseas Territories and all other regional centres of power, in accordance with their various constitutional relationships with the UK, to ensure that all of their interests are taken properly into account. In the meantime, the UK remains a member of the EU, and the full range of rights and obligations afforded under the Treaties still apply.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Twitter

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which ministers have official ministerial Twitter accounts; and whether they have plans to close those accounts.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: Civil servants manage departmental social media accounts, but not individual MP Twitter handles.

Department for International Development

Afghanistan: Minerals

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to assist the government of Afghanistan in preventing any illegal trade in lapis lazuli and other minerals.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK supports the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) including through strengthening the Ministry’s capacity to detect and report illegal activity such as the illegal trade in Lapis Lazuli and other minerals.However, because most of this illegal activity occurs in insecure areas where there is little or no government control, the UK is supporting Afghanistan’s long term security and stability; including through providing additional troops to assist the Afghan Forces boost security in the country, and providing £178m aid per year to 2017 to support Afghanistan’s economic growth and development.

Afghanistan: Natural Resources

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to support the government of Afghanistan in strengthening its capacity to control the exports and supply chains of the extractive industries in accordance with OECD due diligence guidelines.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK is supporting the Afghan government to responsibly develop its mineral wealth in accordance with OECD guidelines.Through the Extractives Sector Support Programme (ESSP), the UK supports the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) to review the legal framework governing extractives and to build a transparent and disciplined fiscal regime. Through the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) the UK is supporting the transparent development of the sector, including through supporting Afghan civil society to bring clarity to the informal mining sector.The UK is supporting President Ghani’s anti-corruption initiatives, including his commitment that the beneficial ownership of mining companies will be disclosed as part of Afghanistan’s implementation of the EITI. The UK is also helping the Afghan government implement and enforce these policies through supporting the MoMP to develop its capacity in contract management and inspectorate functions.

Afghanistan: Rural Areas

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that the National Solidarity Programme in Afghanistan receives adequate support and delivers the necessary assistance to the most deprived rural areas.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK supports the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). The UK is one of the largest donors to the ARTF which supports the Afghan government to deliver basic services across the country. UK officials will continue to meet regularly with the World Bank, who are the ARTF administrators, and the Afghan Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development, who manage the NSP, to discuss the delivery of these important programmes and ensure that they reach the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan.

St Helena: Transport

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received about transport services to St Helena.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Representations have been received from the Elected Councillors of the Legislative Council of St Helena as well as from a number of potential providers of a scheduled air service to St Helena.

St Helena: Aviation

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposal by the Namibia Atlantic Aero Partnership for an air service from Namibia to St Helena.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The air service proposal from the Namibia Atlantic Aero Partnership has been assessed and was not considered a viable option.

Bangladesh: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what portion of the Department for International Development funds provided to Bangladesh are used to promote freedom of religion and belief and the protection of minorities.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As part of UK’s development priority to leave no-one behind, the Department for International Development supports a number of activities in Bangladesh to safeguard and promote the rights of minority groups. Since 2010, this has included community action and national advocacy to defend the rights of over 200,000 people in ethnic and religious minorities to land, services and safety nets. DFID has also provided livestock, poultry, and other assets to 32,470 poor families in minority communities. These activities make up approximately 1.2% of DFID funds to Bangladesh between April 2013 and March 2016.In addition, DFID has provided technical support to the Government of Bangladesh to review and revise its primary education curriculum, including to emphasise respect for all of the main religions in the religious studies curriculum.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work: Young People

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage young people to serve in their community through supporting full-time, long-term volunteering.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: Government is committed to ensuring young people, from all backgrounds, have the opportunity to engage in meaningful social action, creating a lifelong habit and developing skills for work. We support Step Up to Serve’s #iwill campaign which is backed by a wide coalition of organisations offering a range of opportunities including full-time volunteering. We have also committed to expanding National Citizen Service (NCS) to reach 360,000 places per year by 2020. Since 2011, over 200,000 have participated in NCS and delivered an estimated eight million volunteer hours. The Government’s pledge to the #iwill campaign is to continue to invest in youth social action and share evidence and best practice.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Baroness Hollins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cumulative impact of housing benefit cuts, benefit caps and council tax on the health of benefit claimants, both those in work and unemployed, since 2008, taking into account the impact of debt on mental health and the need for women to receive a healthy diet before they conceive and while they are pregnant if they are to give birth to healthy babies.

Lord Freud: Impact assessments published for welfare changes, for example those relating to the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, are available on www.gov.uk. Published impact assessments not available on www.gov.uk may be available at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. We already have cumulative distributional analysis published by HMT that is the most comprehensive available covering not only the effects of direct cash transfers between households and government but also the effects of frontline public service provision. Our welfare reforms since 2010 are intended to incentivise work and make work pay. There is a strong evidence base showing that work is generally good for physical and mental health and wellbeing. We recognise that not everyone can work and therefore we provide financial assistance. The employment rate remains at 74.4 per cent which is the highest since comparable records began. In addition the number and rate of workless households are both at a record low.

Low Incomes: Statistics

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Department for Work and Pensions report of the Household Below Average Income Statistics was over 100 pages in length in previous years and this year is 13 pages in length; and why this year's report contains details published in Excel tables only.

Lord Freud: The change in publication format for the 2014/15 Households Below Average Income (HBAI) National Statistics release was made to bring this report into line with the new standard DWP Statistics template, with the aim of giving more focussed and accessible publications, without sacrificing the breadth of statistical analysis previously published. No information has been lost from this publication, rather this restructuring is intended to allow the lay user to better understand these important statistics. This approach is in line with the UK Statistics Authority’s “Better Statistics, Better Decisions” strategy and the specific change in format for HBAI was trailed in a Statistical Notice released in April 2016.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied minors seeking asylum have been successfully transferred to the UK in each month since the introduction of Dublin III in January 2013, and from which countries those transfers were made.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Data on cases progressed under the Dublin III Regulation is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically and is therefore not currently available.

Territorial Waters: Security

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are investigating the use of University Royal Naval Unit craft and the Maritime Volunteer Service to increase the number of platforms available for security of UK territorial seas.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Border Force and its partner organisations are well prepared to counter attempts by migrants to use small boats to circumvent border security and enter the UK illegally. A number of counter-measures have been put in place to detect and deter this activity, including the coordination of maritime security assets, so that maximum coverage at sea is delivered that ensures assets are in the right place at the right time.

Territorial Waters: Security

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Maritime Intelligence Centre has any command and control authority over assets available for security of UK territorial seas.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) facilitates information exchange between government departments and agencies. Command and control of assets is administered by the respective organisations that are represented in the NMIC.

HM Treasury

Sterling

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the British pound in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The UK does not have an exchange rate target. The UK’s monetary policy framework gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The MPC has the primary objective of maintaining price stability, defined as an inflation target of 2 per cent as measured by the twelve month increase in the Consumer Prices Index. Under the Government’s macroeconomic framework, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly, and movements in sterling are determined by market forces. Action by the government and the Bank of England over the last six years has substantially strengthened the resilience of the financial system. The contingency plans that the Treasury, Bank and Financial Conduct Authority put in place prior to the referendum have proved effective to date, and we will continue to monitor financial markets closely.

Northern Ireland Office

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the concept of parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, will be involved in any way in the arrangements for withdrawal from the EU, and if so, how.

Lord Dunlop: The people of the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected and delivered. The interests of all parts of our United Kingdom must be protected and advanced. As we prepare for a new negotiation with the European Union, we will fully involve the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments. The Government remains fully committed to the Belfast Agreement, its fundamental principles, and its successors and to the institutions they establish.

Department of Health

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Walmsley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the advice by Professors Stanley, Lawler, Graham, and others, to extend HPV vaccinations to boys to curb the spread of throat and other cancers.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the expert committee that advises Ministers on immunisation related issues, is currently in the process of considering the impact and cost-effectiveness of extending the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination to adolescent boys. This includes assessing all the necessary evidence and information on the potential impact of a boys vaccination programme on non-cervical cancers caused by HPV.